Ground Water in Huerfano County Colorado
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Ground Water in Huerfano County Colorado GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1805 Prepared in cooperation with the Colorado W^ater Conservation Board Ground Water in Huerfano County Colorado By THAD G. McLAUGHLIN GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1805 Prepared in cooperation with the Colorado Water Conservation Board UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1966 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY William T. Pecora, Director Library of Congress catalog card No. GS 65-341 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 CONTENTS Page Abstract ______________________________________________________ 1 Introduction._____________________________________________________ 2 Purpose and scope of the inyestigation____-_-_-_-____-_-_-_______ 2 Location and extent of the area________________________-________ 3 Previous investigations__-_-___________-_-_-_____-_____________- 3 Methods of investigation_______________________________________ 3 Well-numbering system ________________________________________ 5 Acknowledgments _____________________________________________ 5 Geographic setting.,._____________________________________________ 7 Topography. _______________________________________________ 7 Drainage _____________________________________________________ 11 Climate--------------________________________-_-__ 13 Geologic setting-__________________________________________________ 15 Stratigraphy..________________________________________________ 15 Structure.-----__----------__-------_----_----______________ 18 Hydrogeologic setting._____________________________________________ 19 Definition of terms_______-_________-__________-________-______ 19 Alluvial aquifers_____________________________________________ 24 Origin and movement of water_______-___-_-_-_-___---_---_- 25 Discharge. ____-_-_____-_______---_--__---_------_-__--_-- 25 Bedrock aquifers___-_______-_________-_-_____-______________ 29 Water problems___________________________________________________ 30 Availability__________________________________ 30 Irrigation supplies__-_____________-___-_---_-_-_----_--_-_- 31 Industrial supplies___-___________--_______-_-_-_-_-_------- 31 Stock supplies___________________________________________ 32 Mine water______________________-_____-_______-_-------__ 32 Quality______.__________________.______.__-______ 32 Possible solutions___________________________-_--__-_-_----_-- 32 Mine water________________________________________-_-_____-----_- 33 Occurrence and movement____________________________________ 33 Yield and storage_________________________-___-_-_-_-----_--_ 35 Quality____________________________________ 38 Alluvial aquifers_________________________________________________ 43 Distribution and thickness__________________--_--____-__---__- 43 Water supply________________________-_____-___-_---__-------- 44 Availability _ ___________________________-_-_-----_------- 44 Quality__________._______________________________ 45 Present development-_________________-----__----_--------- 45 Future development._________________ ________ 47 Bedrock aquifers.________________________________-___-_-----_----- 52 Problems in locating water.________________-_____----_-_------- 52 Misconception concerning the supply___.__-__------_---_------- 55 Precambrian rocks_________________-___-__---_-----_----------- 57 Pennsylvanian marine rocks.__________-___-_--__--------------- 58 ni IV CONTENTS Bedrock aquifers Continued Sangre de Cristo Formation___________________________________ 58 Entrada Sandstone----_------____-___-_______-_-____-_________ 59 Morrison and Ralston Creek(?) Formations______---_-__-_______ 60 Purgatoire Formation.____________ ___________________________ 61 Dakota Sandstone.___^__. _____________________________________ 63 Graneros Shale._______________________________________________ 66 Greenhorn Limestone._________________________________________ 67 Carlile Shale________________________________________ 68 Limestone-sandstone aquifer____________________________________ 69 Niobrara Formation.__________________________________________ 72 Fort Hays Limestone Member._____________________________ 72 Smoky Hill Marl Member__________________________________ 73 Pierre Shale_________________________________________________ 74 Trinidad Sandstone.___________________________________________ 75 Vermejo and Raton Formations.________________________________ 78 Poison Canyon and Cuchara Formations.________________________ 79 Huerfano Formation.__________________________________________ 81 Intrusive rocks..______________________________________________ 82 Farisita Conglomerate________________________________________ 84 Devils Hole Formation.________________________________________ 85 References_ _ ____________________________________________________ 86 Index_________________-_______________________-_-_-_-_-_--___-___ 89 ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates are in pocket] PLATE 1. Map and section showing geology and location of wells and springs in Huerfano County, Colo. 2. Map of prominent topographic features of Huerfano County, Colo. 3. Map of principal drainage basins in Huerfano County, Colo., and their susceptibility to erosion. 4. Map of principal structural features of part of south-central Colorado. 5. Cross sections of Huerfano and Cucharas Valleys, Colo. 6. Hydrograph of water level in observation wells in Huerfano County, and precipitation at Walsenburg, Colo. 7. Diagram showing effect of canyon cutting on ground-water supply, Cueharas and Huerfano Canyons, Colo. Page FIGURE 1. Index map of Huerfano County____-_-_----------_--_ 4 2. Diagram showing system of numbering wells and test holes in Colorado.._______________________________ 6 3-5. Photographs showing: 3. View westward over coal basin______________ 8 4. Shale plains east of Wet Mountains.__________ 9 5. Confluence of Cucharas and Huerfano Canyons. 10 6. Map showing distribution of precipitation in Huerfano County__ _ --___._____________--___-_----_--__-- 14 CONTENTS FIGURE 7-12. Diagrams of: 7. Some principles of ground-water occurrence. __ _ 20 8. Influent and effluent streams.________________ 22 9. Movement of water in alluvial deposits________ 26 10. Movement and accumulation of ground water in the colluvium beneath pediments.________ 27 11. Movement of water from an intermittent stream into alluvium and into a bedrock aquifer_____ 28 12. Recharge of coal-bearing rocks with water from alluvium. ________________________________ 36 13. Map showing principal mines in and near Cucharas Valley, and hydrographs of water levels in mines.____ 37 14-19. Diagrams showing: 14. Classification of mine water __________________ 41 15. Classification of water from alluvium..________ 46 16. Method of locating a buried channel._________ 48 17. Effect of channel cutting on ground-water supply_ ________________________________ 50 18. Relation of geologic structure to the occurrence of ground water________________________ 54 19. Classification of water from wells in bedrock__ 63 20. Columnar section showing stratigraphic position of the limestone-sandstone aquifer._______________________ 70 21. Diagram showing occurrence of water in the Trinidad Sandstone.______________________________________ 77 22. Idealized diagram showing relation of topographic posi tion to the water supply in the Poison Canyon and Cuchara Formations..____________________________ 81 23. Diagram showing occurrence of water in altered shale adjacent to a sill_______________________________ 84 TABLES Page TABLE 1. Runoff at gaging stations in Huerfano County.________ 12 2. Discharge of sediment in Huerfano River______________ 14 3. Generalized section of geologic formations in Huerfano County, Colo________________________.___________ 16 4. Water in mines in Huerfano County___--_-_----__-_-_ 35 5. Thickness of bedrock formations in eastern Huerfano County________________________________________ 53 GROUND WATER IN HUERFANO COUNTY, COLORADO By THAD G. MCLATTGHLIN ABSTRACT Huerfano County includes nearly 1,600 square miles in south-central Colo rado. The western part of the county is in the Southern Rocky Mountains, and the remainder is in the Great Plains. It is an area of diverse topography from rolling grassy plains to rugged mountain peaks which is drained by the Huerfano River. The climate is semiarid to subhumid, the annual precipitation ranging from about 14 to nearly 30 inches. The mountains in the western part of the county are of diverse stratigraphy and complex structure. The remainder of the county is underlain chiefly by rocks of Mesozoic age that dip very steeply eastward from the foothills into the Raton basin and that dip much less steeply westward from the Apishapa arch, also into the Raton basin. The westward dip of the rocks from the Apishapa arch is interrupted by several extensive normal faults. In general, Huerfano County has two types of aquifers: alluvial and bed rock. The alluvial aquifers are those in which water occurs in relatively thin surflcial deposits in the valleys and beneath pediments. They are recharged principally by the percolation of precipitation downward to the water table and by percolation through the beds of streams. Water is discharged from the aquifers mainly through springs and seeps and by evapotranspiration. The bedrock aquifers comprise older consolidated rocks such as sandstone and lime stone and are recharged principally by the infiltration of precipitation and the percolation